They have found frozen water on Mars, but you can’t imagine where it was

The red planet continues to surprise scientists who venture to explore it

We can see Mars from Earth, but we have even more tools to explore the red planet and unravel its mysteries. The Artemis program has as one of its great objectives that human beings end up stepping on Mars one day, although until this happens we still have a lot to discover about a planet that surprises us daily. Did you imagine frozen water on this planet neighbor?

Frozen water on Mars, in the least expected place

An international team of scientists from Brown University have published an article in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience in which they describe small accumulations of frozen water in the region of Mars known as Tharsis. This plateau of equator of the red planet It is located on the western edge of Valles Marineris and is known for its mountain formations.

Actually, we are talking about a zone where are located tallest volcanoes in the entire solar system and the research, furthermore, marks a milestone by being the first time that is detected frozen water near the equator from Mars. Adomas Valantinas, leader of the study, has assured in a statement published on the Brown University website that:

We thought it unlikely that ice would form near Mars’ equator, since the mix of sunlight and the thin atmosphere keeps daytime temperatures relatively high, both on the surface and on mountain tops, not like we see on Earth. Earth, where you expect to see frozen peaks. What we see could be a remnant of an ancient climate cycle on modern Mars, where there was rain and even snow on these volcanoes in the past.

Oblique perspective of the Olympus Mons volcano and the ice found on its top

However, do not think that we are talking about an ice sheet like a skating rink, no. Actually, the ice is so thin which can be compared to the width of a human hair. Of course, his extension It is wide, with 150,000 tons of water, that is, the equivalent of 60 Olympic swimming pools. This ice is present in the calderas of volcanoes, whose shape could be the reason that causes its appearance.

Understanding the process of creating this ice can be really useful to understand the climatic and atmospheric dynamics of Mars in more detail. something vital for human beings to have the opportunity to find life on this planet. By the way, the ice has been detected through the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiteran orbiter that incorporates the Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System, and through the analysis of almost 30,000 imageswhich began in 2018, when Adomas Valantinas was doing his postdoc.

You can follow Urban Techno on Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter (X) or check our Telegram channel to stay up to date with the latest technology news.